Google has just released its first application for Apple Watch's operating system.
Google has officially entered the wearables game. According to Tech Crunch, the company released its first application for the Apple Watch, in the form of an update to a preexisting application for iOS.
The Google News & Weather app has been modified to run on the Apple Watch, and represents Google’s first foray into the third-party smart watch app ecosystem, where it will join thousands of other applications that Apple Watch users will be able to download.
Instagram, Twitter, and Evernote are among a litany of large tech names that have altered their programs to run on the new Apple platform, and Google is the most recent to join in on the fun.
Many who have taken to sporting the smart watch have expressed their secret hopes that Google’s first offering would be it’s well-loved “Maps” application, but the move suggests that this won’t be Google’s last attempt at breaking into the app market for Apple Watch. Google’s Android Wear platform will be a direct competitor to Apple’s smart watch, and appearing on two separate platforms means that Google’s apps will be universally-known to smart watch users. Google hopes to capture market share with this strategy.
The News and Weather offering from Google is new to Apple’s app stores for all of their devices, including the Apple Watch. The app offers news summaries from over 65,000 publications, organized in a similar fashion to Google news. Users can customize what news sections they see while using the app, and will see local news and weather displayed based on satellite data.
The app will be useful for quickly glancing at headlines and weather, but leaves much to be desired in the pursuit of reading a full article. The app also does not currently offer real-time weather updates.
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